An important conversation is happening in the Pacific Northwest, as well as throughout much of the country, about the safety of moving crude oil by rail. At BNSF Railway, we are actively engaging in this dialogue because for us, there is nothing more important than safely operating in the communities that we serve. BNSF works closely with local and state emergency responders and planners to share information about the types of hazardous material we carry as well as our response plans. Because we are required by federal law to transport hazardous materials, we are dedicated to moving them as safely as possible, and we have always handled some commodities with extra precautions to further reduce risks.

For more than two decades BNSF and the rail industry have operated specially identified “key trains,” which carry certain hazardous materials, including crude oil, with more restrictive operating procedures than required by federal regulation. Key train operating procedures and practices are ingrained into our day-to-day operations and include lower maximum speeds, along with stricter rules for trackside warning device notifications and emergency brake applications.

Running a safe and secure operation is the cornerstone of our business. The Oregonian reported that railroads do not disclose to the public what type of hazardous materials they carry. This is done for security reasons and has been our policy since the 9/11 attacks. However, BNSF does share detailed information with emergency responders in communities along our tracks and at the state level for safety reasons. In fact, BNSF has shared our geographic response plans with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Washington Department of Ecology.

Over the past several years, the BNSF hazmat team has participated as instructors at the Oregon Hazardous Materials Response Teams conferences and the Washington State Fire Chiefs Hazmat conferences. At these conferences, BNSF instructs attendees in how to safely and properly respond to and prepare for rail hazmat emergencies and how to request information from the railroad.

Also, it is of the upmost importance to us that the communities we serve can be prepared to respond if an incident were to occur. This is why BNSF offers free hazmat response training to 3,000 to 4,000 local emergency responders in communities across our network each year. In 2013, we participated in 20 training sessions for responders in Oregon and Washington. We also provide a computer-based emergency response training program on hazardous materials to every fire department within 2 miles of our rail lines

BNSF was the first railroad in the industry to deploy a fleet of industrial fire-fighting foam trailers on hazmat routes around its network. We freely make these trailers available to other railroads and communities. In the event of an incident that requires these trailers, we mobilize the trailers to the location of an incident and deploy contract industrial firefighters to operate the equipment.

BNSF has specialized equipment and hazmat responders staged across our network, including in Washington and Oregon. Currently, BNSF and our contractors have specialized hazardous material and oil spill response equipment in several locations, including Anacortes, Seattle, Longview, Wishram, Pasco and Spokane, in Washington; and Portland, Eugene, Maupin, Moody and Prineville, in Oregon.

Most importantly, though, is our focus on preventing accidents. The foundation of our company is built around a culture of safety with our employees focused on proper training and compliance, and a robust track and equipment inspection program that exceeds federal standards. We also invest heavily in our infrastructure. Our capital investment for our system in 2013 was $4.3 billion, and nearly half of this was spent on track maintenance, which improves our infrastructure, and the installation of trackside warning technology that prevents derailments from equipment failure.

At BNSF, we believe every accident is preventable, which is why we have worked so hard to reduce rail accidents to record-low levels. But we will also continue, as we always have, to help train and provide emergency response resources to the communities where we operate so they can also be prepared if an incident does occur. We are absolutely committed to continuously improving safety and being a responsible partner.

Daryl Ness is the Northwest Division general manager for BNSF Railway.